This is a loving-kindness practice.
Whether you are sitting or lying down,
Finding a stable posture,
One that embodies dignity and wakefulness,
That is also soft and open.
As you feel ready,
Bring your awareness to the breath and the body as a whole breathing,
Noticing the in-breath coming in and the out-breath moving out,
Letting the breath breathe itself while your attention rides along.
And when you feel stable and comfortable,
Resting with the flowing of your breathing in this way,
Picturing in your mind's eye,
To whatever degree you find it possible,
Someone in your life who loves you or who loved you,
Unconditionally,
Evoking and giving yourself over to feeling the qualities of the selfless love and kindness they accord you or accorded you and the whole aura or field of their love for you,
Right here,
Right now,
Breathing with these feelings,
Bathing in them,
Resting in the warmth and radiance of their heartfelt embracing of you just as you are,
Drinking in the experience that you are unequivocally and unconditionally loved and accepted as you are,
Without having to be different,
Without having to be worthy of their love,
Without having to be particularly deserving.
In fact,
You may not feel particularly worthy or deserving.
That does not matter.
The relevant fact is that you were or are loved.
Their love is for you just as you are,
For who you are now already and perhaps have always been,
Allowing your own heart to bask in these feelings,
To be cradled in them,
To be rocked,
Moment by moment,
In the swinging,
Rhythmic beating of the loving heart of another,
Allowing your heart to be held and bathed in this way,
By the warmth of this radiant,
Pulsing field of loving-kindness.
And if you encounter some difficulty in bringing to mind such a person from memory in this moment,
Then see if you can imagine someone treating you in that way,
Imagining with great vividness the feelings of love and kindness and regard,
And that can serve equally well in this practice.
And when you feel ready,
See if you can become the source,
As well as the object,
Of these same feelings,
Taking on these feelings for yourself,
As if they were your own rather than those of another,
Cradling in your own heart these feelings of love and acceptance and kindness for yourself,
Beyond judgment of any kind,
Bathing in your own kind regards,
Your own complete acceptance of yourself as you are,
Right here in this very moment,
Letting this feeling be self-sustaining,
Natural,
In no way forced or coerced,
Even tiny tastes of it are an antidote for all the negativity and self-criticism and self-loathing that can lie beneath the surface of our psyches.
While resting here in this field of loving-kindness,
You may find it useful to whisper to yourself inwardly the following phrases,
May I be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May I be happy and contented.
May I be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible.
May I experience ease of well-being.
May I be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May I be happy and contented.
May I be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible.
May I experience ease of well-being.
At first,
It may feel artificial to be saying such things to yourself,
Or even thinking them.
After all,
Who is this I who is wishing this?
And who is the I who is receiving these wishes?
Ultimately,
Both vanish into the feeling of being safe and free from harm,
Into the feeling of being contented and happy in this moment,
A feeling of being whole in this moment.
Since you are already whole,
Feeling of resting in ease of well-being,
Far from the dis-ease and fragmentation we endure so much of the time,
This very feeling is the essence of loving-kindness.
But you might object,
If this is a selfless practice,
Why am I focusing on myself,
On my own feelings of safety,
On my own happiness?
It's important to remember that your loving-kindness for others cannot be either loving or kind if it does not include yourself.
At the same time,
This field of loving-kindness is limitless,
It is not limited to yourself.
You can think of the practice as we've been engaging in it up to this point as tuning your instrument before you play it out in the world.
Tuning the instrument is itself a huge act of love and kindness,
Not a means to an end.
When you're ready,
And if you care to,
You can expand the field of loving-kindness around your own heart and invite others,
Either as individuals or en masse into this growing embrace.
To begin with,
You may wish to bring someone to mind whom you hold very dear,
Whom you love unconditionally,
Picturing that person in your mind's eye,
Repeating the phrases,
Once again,
May they be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm,
May they be happy and contented,
May they be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible,
May they experience ease of well-being.
And now,
Bringing someone to mind with whom you have a neutral relationship,
Somebody you know of or see often but are not close to,
Could be someone in a store or cafe that you frequent regularly,
A bus driver or a neighbor across the street,
The spouse or partner of a friend or the parent of a child's friend,
And widening the field of loving-kindness even further,
Repeating the phrases once again,
May they be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm,
May they be happy and contented,
May they be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible,
May they experience ease of well-being.
And now,
If you care to,
And only if it is comfortable for you,
Bringing to mind someone with whom you have a difficult or challenging relationship,
Someone you may have hurt in the past or who may have hurt you but who also deserves to feel safe and at ease,
Repeating the phrases once again,
May they be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm,
May they be happy and contented,
May they be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible,
May they experience ease of well-being.
And now,
Expanding the field of loving-kindness in all directions to embrace all living beings,
Near and far,
And for a final time,
Repeating these phrases,
Either inwardly or speaking them aloud,
May all beings be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm,
May all beings be happy and contented,
May all beings be healthy and whole to whatever degree possible,
May all beings experience ease of well-being.
And now,
Resting here in the warm embrace of your loving-kindness for yourself and others,
Being with a sense of the breath in the body,
Moment by moment,
Moment by moment,
Until you hear the sounds of the bell.
